Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) with a Rs 1,000-crore bid for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract at the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu, which is being set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) with Russian assistance. The contract is for testing, commissioning and providing a performance guarantee for common services systems, structures and components at Units 3 and 4 of the much-delayed project.

According to sources, RInfra emerged as the lowest bidder against competitors such as Larsen & Toubro, Tata Projects, BHEL and BGR Energy Systems. Sources said that the bids were opened on Tuesday by NPCIL. The project is scheduled to be commissioned in five years. When contacted, RInfra declined to comment. The project is the single-largest nuclear power station in India and construction first began on March 31, 2002. But it faced several delays due to opposition from local fishermen. The total cost of Unit 3 and Unit 4 each with a capacity of 1,000 MW is approximately Rs 40,000 crore. NPCIL has partnered with Russia’s ASE Engineering Company JSC for the project. Read More…